


The Baby

by silly_mortal



Category: Life Goes On (TV)
Genre: Adultery, Extramarital Affairs, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:35:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26855314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silly_mortal/pseuds/silly_mortal
Summary: Jerry meets Nicky for the first time.
Relationships: Libby Thacher/Drew Thacher, Libby Thacher/Jerry Berkson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Baby

**Author's Note:**

> As always, Jerry and Libs are in love. Drew is a prick. My story titles are not at all creative.
> 
> My Jibby Timeline:
> 
> The Conference  
> A Series of Questions  
> The Baby  
> The Sitter  
> The Trip  
> The Weekend  
> The Announcement  
> The Conversation  
> The Memories  
> Halloween With The Berksons  
> The Patient  
> 

When the door opened and Jerry walked into the room, tears immediately filled Libby’s eyes.

“Oh honey...” she breathed, softly.

“Yeah?” 

Both she and Jerry turned to see Drew walking out of the adjoining bathroom, drying his hands on a paper towel, and looking at her, questioningly. He glared when he saw Jerry standing there, clutching a vase that held two dozen long-stemmed red roses and a giant teddy bear.

“Look what Jerry brought!” she smiled, happily, trying to cover her misstep.

“What are you doing here, Jerry?” Drew asked, flippantly. “Do you have some calls you’d like Libby to make? As you can see, she’s a little busy.”

“I… uh… just wanted to drop by to see Libs and say congratulations,” he stammered, unable to take his eyes off of Libby and the bundle in her arms.

“They’re beautiful, Jer,” she said, softly. “Thank you.”

“Help him, Drew,” she added, as Jerry struggled to set everything down.

Reluctantly, Drew took the flowers from his arms and set them on the table.

“You brought her _red_ roses?” Drew shook his head. “You sure don’t know your flowers, Jerry. Red is for love.”

“ _Is_ it? I didn’t know, I thought it was for friendship... Plus, I love Libs-”

Libby’s dark eyes widened, as Drew stared at Jerry, in shock.

“I love when she gets my coffee, picks up my dry cleaning, makes my appointments. I went to the florist and said, ‘What do I get for a woman I can’t live without, who’s got me going crazy ever since she left?’ They recommended red roses. I guess I should have mentioned that the woman in question is my assistant and that I’m going crazy because I can’t find anything, since she’s been out on maternity leave.”

Libby tried not to smile.

“Yeah, you probably should have mentioned that,” Drew stated. “It’s a little inappropriate for a boss to give his employee red roses. That’s more something a husband gives his wife.”

“Jeez, I’m sorry Drew,” Jerry said, innocently. “I didn’t mean to step on your toes. Do my flowers look like the ones _you_ got her?”

Jerry looked pointedly at the flowers he had just brought, which were the only flowers in the room.

“I haven’t had a chance to get her any yet,” Drew replied, coldly.

“Well, if anyone asks, you can pretend the ones I got her are from you, hey Drew? I mean, you don’t want people to think that your wife just went through hours of agonizing pain to expel a human being from her body and you didn’t even _think_ to get her a bouquet of flowers.”

“You know what, Jerry-”

“Jerry, do you want to hold the baby?” Libby interrupted.

Jerry turned back to look at her and grinned, ecstatically. 

“Do I wanna _hold_ him? There is nothing on earth I wanna do more than hold _that_ kid.”

“Come here...”

Jerry walked over and leaned over, to peer at the tiny face that was surrounded by blankets.

“He’s gorgeous, Libs. He looks just like you.”

“You think so? I already see a lot of his daddy in him,” she murmured, while gazing at her son.

“No way. This kid is 100% mama. Look at those eyes, that nose, those lips. That’s you, Libs, all the way.”

“I don’t know, Jer,” Drew interjected. “He might look like Libby now, but that’ll change. The Thachers have strong genes.”

“Only time will tell, Drew,” Jerry said.

Libby smiled up at him and patted the bed, next to her, indicating that he should sit beside her. Just before Jerry sat down, he hesitated.

“Are you ok? Will I hurt you if I shake the bed?” he asked, worriedly.

“Jesus, Jerry, you can tell you’ve never gotten a woman pregnant!” Drew laughed. “What do you think sitting on the bed is going to do to her?”

“Drew!” Libby hissed.

“It’s called being thoughtful, Drew,” Jerry said, trying to suppress his irritation.

“Let me tell you some of _my_ thoughts, Jer-”

“Drew!” Libby snapped. “Why don’t you go downstairs and get me something to drink?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t care. Just take a walk around the block! My son isn’t even 12 hours old yet and I’m not going to let you force him to witness his first argument because you’re wanting to mark both of us as your territory! I have a visitor, so please take a walk and let me _visit_ with him. And please close the door behind you.”

Shooting a final glare Jerry's way, Drew stalked out of the room, leaving Libby and Jerry alone.

As soon as the door closed, Jerry sat on the bed and pulled Libby’s face to his, kissing her.

“Hi,” she breathed, when they came up for air.

“God, Libs, are you ok? Do you hurt? Do you need anything? What can I do for you?”

“Honey, I’m fine. I told you last night that I’m just fine. I hurt a little, but that’s normal considering I just squeezed out an 8 pound human.”

“Was it awful?”

“No more awful than normal. They didn’t even have to episiotomy, which I am so grateful for.”

“Is that good?”

“Very good. It means I was able to stretch far enough to deliver the baby, without tearing or them having to cut me. They had to give me one for both Becca and Corky and the recovery was so painful. But, apparently, my muscles are now able to stretch far enough to accommodate a larger girth... I think that’s all thanks to you, _big boy_ ,” she smirked, teasingly.

“Glad I could help,” Jerry chuckled, shaking his head.

He took a moment to look into her eyes, as he stroked her cheek.

“Seeing you sitting here like this, holding our baby, is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.”

“Do you want to hold your son, Jer?”

“More than anything.”

Gently, Libby set the tiny, swaddled baby into his arms. Once he was holding him securely, Libby unwrapped their son a bit, so Jerry could get a good look at him. Ever so softly, he ran his forefinger over the skin of the newborn’s delicate cheek.

“Have you named him yet?”

“We’re still arguing about it. Drew told Corky his name is Jake.”

“What happened to Nicholas?”

“He’s trying to get around it. And Giordano. When I was in the bathroom, he tried to sign the paper that confirms his legal name, but I came out and caught him and told the nurse to come back when we’d decided.”

“Jesus. He’s a… Never mind. Let’s not talk about him. We probably only have a few minutes alone, before he comes back.”

They sat together, mooning over their baby, in silence. When he finally turned to look at her, Libby noticed there were tears in his dark brown eyes.

“He’s perfect, Libs,” he choked.

“He is.”

“And he’s _ours_. He’s _us_. You and I _made_ him… Together. I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it, love. He’s here now and he’s our own slice of Heaven.”

Jerry looked back down at his son.

“He doesn’t look like me at all, thank God.”

“He absolutely does, honey. He has my face, but his ears are yours and so are his fingers.”

“My fingers?” he asked, looking at her. “You pay attention to what my fingers look like? They just look like regular fingers.”

“I have every bit of you memorized, Jerry Berkson. I pay attention to detail – you know that. I get it from my mother.”

Jerry leaned over and kissed her.

When the door opened, Jerry shot up from the bed, clutching the baby in his arms.

“I’m just here with your lunch, Mrs. Thacher,” the young hospital attendant smiled, bringing in a tray.

“Thank you so much.” 

“Excuse me,” Jerry said, as she set the tray down. “Is there any way I can get you to take a picture of us?”

“Oh, sure, Mr. Thacher!” she smiled.

Ignoring her mistake, Jerry thanked her and handed her the camera from his jacket pocket. He settled back on the bed, next to Libby, and smiled as the young woman snapped a few pictures of them. She was handing Jerry back the camera, when the door swung open and the Giordanos and Corky barged in. Her parents immediately raced to the bed and Sal Giordano dropped a kiss on his daughter’s cheek.

“We picked up the kids, before we came over. Where’s the bambino?” Teresa Giordano demanded.

“Jerry has him,” Libby answered.

Immediately, Jerry handed their precious bundle over to Libby’s mother.

“Hi Jerry!” Corky smiled up at him, excitedly. "Did you see the baby?”

“I did. He’s great! Perfect.”

“Do you think he looks like me?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

“I’m gonna teach him everything! I am so excited to have a little brother.”

“That’s what big brothers are for, Cork,” Jerry smiled, putting his arm around his shoulders. “When he gets older, you’re gonna have to teach him to join you as the Berkson & Berkson softball team mascot.”

“Are you _still_ here, Jerry?” 

Jerry looked up to see Drew walk into the room. He walked over and placed a soda can on Libby’s lunch tray.

“I brought you a Pepsi,” he said, to her.

“I can’t drink caffeine, Drew,” Libby said. “I’m _breastfeeding_.”

“You told me to get you something to drink. How am I supposed to know that you’re not drinking caffeine?!”

“Maybe because I haven’t had a drop of it in _7 months_ , Drew,” she sighed.

Drew ignored his wife’s comment and walked over to the Giordanos.

“How do you like my son?” he asked, proudly. “He looks just like me, huh?”

“I think he looks more like Libby this time,” Sal said, peering at his grandson. “What are you calling him?”

“Jake. Jake Nicholas Thacher.”

“Jake…? Jake like... rake?” Sal asked, looking as if he had just taken a bite of something he did not like the taste of. “Nicholas is better.”

“Jake is a strong name. A man’s name,” Drew countered.

“He _does_ look an awful lot like Libby, doesn’t he, Mr. Giordano?” Jerry said, looking at the baby. “This is definitely an Italian kid right here. 100% Giordano.”

Drew glared at Jerry, as Libby’s parents agreed, while gushing over the baby. 

“Hey Drew,” Jerry said, looking the picture of innocence. “Have you considered Giordano as a middle name for him? I mean, Corky is named after you and your dad, right? Maybe this one should be named after _Libby’s_ dad...”

Libby stared back and forth, from Jerry to Drew, her mouth open.

“You know, Jerry, this is a family moment. Why don’t you leave us to it and let _my wife_ and I decide _our_ kid’s name?”

“Drew, trust me… I wouldn’t dream of trying to interfere with the naming of _your_ kid. I was just making a suggestion.”

“Well, why don’t you save your suggestions until you have a kid of your own? But, since you have no wife or girlfriend, I guess that ship has sailed, huh?” Drew looked at him, an icy grin on his face.

Jerry nodded.

“Don’t count me out, Drew. I mean, you and I are about the same age, right? So, it’s never too late. Who knows, one day soon you might see a little _Jerry Jr._ running around.”

“Hopefully, he’ll look more like his mother than you, huh, Jer?”

“For the sake of all of us, let’s hope that, Drew,” he agreed.

Drew started to speak but, before he could get a word out, Sal had swept the baby out of his wife’s arms and was repeating the name. 

“Nicholas Giordano… I love it!”

Drew tried to suppress his fury in front of his in-laws, as he muttered something about going back downstairs to get Libby something else to drink.

As soon as he left, Jerry offered to take a few pictures of the Giordanos and Corky with the baby. He took several photos, offering to send them copies, before he saying he had to get to the office and making a hasty goodbye. He paused at the door, to give Libby a soft smile, which she returned.

Sal and Corky were in the corner, fawning over the baby when Teresa took a seat on the bed, next to Libby.

“Those are beautiful flowers,” she said, looking at her daughter. “I didn’t know Drew had such good taste.”

“Jerry brought them, Ma, for the baby.”

“What, do I look like I was born yesterday?” she whispered. “Men don’t buy flowers for babies, Elizabeth. The bear is for the baby, the flowers are for _you_.”

“We’re friends, Ma," Libby insisted. "We’ve been friends for years. He brought me a gift. That’s not unusual.”

“You’re right…" she agreed. "What did he think of the baby?”

“He thinks he’s cute, of course.”

“What did he think of the baby's ears and fingers?”

Libby froze.


End file.
